Windows 9 preview set to be released in September

Disgruntled Windows 8 users: there’s finally light at the end of the tunnel. ZDNet reports that Microsoft is planning to release a Windows 9 “technology preview” sometime between the end of September and the beginning of October. In order to install the preview, you’ll have to agree to receive automatic monthly updates, but the preview will be publicly available for anyone interested in testing out the Threshold operating system.

No information was revealed regarding what the technology preview will consist of, but we know that Windows 9 will feature a host of updates and improvements over Windows 8. The return of the Start menu is certainly at the top of the list, but Microsoft is also expected to bring Cortana to the new OS. The voice-activated digital assistant was met with excitement when it was announced earlier in the year and could be a major attribute for Windows going forward.

ZDNet adds that Microsoft released several previews for Windows 8 before the official launch, but the company was working on a very different release schedule at the time. In fact, it was more than a year after the first Windows 8 developer preview was released that the OS went on sale. On the other hand, Microsoft is expected to release Windows 9 in the spring of 2015.